Dear Friends of the Foundation,
On behalf of the North Shore Community Foundation board, we hope and trust you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving Day weekend. No doubt 2020 will go down in history as a memorable year but let us all be thankful and grateful for what we do have and enjoy.
I wanted to provide an update to earlier communications relating to the pandemic and what the Foundation has been up to.
As many of you may know, we created a COVID Relief Fund back in April and to date, we have raised close to $95,000 with the support of so many of our kind and generous corporate and personal supporters.
I would like to thank Adera Development, Darwin Construction, Seaspan ULC, Neptune Terminals, Western Stevedoring, Concert Properties, Royal Bank, The Strongman Group, Woodbridge Homes, Holiday Inn, PARC, and the Capilano Group for their unwavering support of the Foundation and this particular initiative. Thus far we have distributed close to $60,000 to a number of North Shore organizations including Avalon Recovery Centre, Athletics For Kids, Family Services of the North Shore, Canadian Mental Health Association – West & North Vancouver, Harvest Project, Parkgate Community Services, and Quest Food Exchange to name just a few.
And during this past Thanksgiving weekend and with the support of so many corporate and personal friends, donors, and supporters, the Foundation arranged to deliver 80 Thanksgiving Day turkey dinners to worthy North Shore-based families. This initiative was in collaboration with Joey Shipyards and a great example of how the North Shore pulls together to help out those in need.
Our heartfelt thanks to Darwin Construction, Neptune Terminals, Western Stevedoring, BC Maritime Employees Association, Ignite Management and so many friends whose immediate response when asked was “I’m in”… way too many to list but you know who you are and all I can say is “HUGE THANKS” my friends!
I’d like to share a few comments from the receiving organizations and the impact this has made on some of their families…
“As a result of this creative, philanthropic gesture, our Youth Safe House, two of our Transitional Housing programs for youth and a youth-led family with young children had “the best dinner ever”, while several families we support that are impacted by domestic violence were “blown away” and, four of our Indigenous families were “over the moon” with such an outstanding meal. It was truly a gift that truly left ten families thankful and for that we too are thankful. Please extend our sincere appreciation to everyone at the Foundation for this initiative." – Alan Kwinter, Board Chair, Hollyburn Family Services Society
“This act of kindness was so well received. The families were waiting to receive their beautiful meal and once they saw it they were thrilled.” – Lisa Hubbard, Executive Director - North Shore Neighbourhood House
“Thank you so much for your generous donation, it has given our clients a little light to hold on to. The families that we selected are all going through a tough time and this definitely brought a moment of positivity in their lives!” – Masha Rademakers, Settlement Lead, North Shore Multicultural Society.
“The Thanksgiving dinners provided to our 5 group homes freed up our staff to focus on client care and gave them a break from having to make a turkey dinner in addition to caring for the residents. All front line staff are experiencing some level of exhaustion so this was an important moral boost. It was also a delicious way to honor the many residents who often feel isolated or forgotten about. The residents described it as the most delicious turkey dinner they have ever had.” – Julia Kaisla, Executive Director, Canadian Mental Health Association, West & North Vancouver
“So wonderful, all our families LOVED their Thanksgiving Day turkey dinners, many thanks!" – Sandy Hancock, Executive Director, Athletics For Kids
“I wanted to reach out and thank you very much for arranging the donation of the turkey dinners for our clients. This extremely generous donation made a lot of people happy over the weekend, including those of us who delivered the meals. Thank you for playing your part in helping us help others to live life better.” – Adele Wilson, Executive Director, Parkgate Society
In closing, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of our entire board who are always there to help the community at large. I am so privileged to work with such an amazing group, each one bringing top-notch skills to the table, thank you, team!
Be well, be safe, and stay strong!